Examination of external bastion of town wall, north of Priory Street in 1931.<1><2>

Prior to the conversion of a large garden into a concrete parking area for the Eastern National Omnibus Company, it was possible to undertake an examination of the area north of Bastion V. In addition to examining the Bastion itself, the Roman town wall was examined and a single trench was cut from a point a few feet east of the Bastion northwards for 180 ft. Within the first 40 ft of the section discoveries included the town wall rampart and a Roman drain. Thirteen ft. 6 in. north of the drain was a septaria wall the top of which lay 5 ft. 6 in. from the surface. Other discoveries included the demolished walls of a wattle-and-daub/timber building and a deep rectangular pit. North of the wall were further traces of the earlier wattle-and-daub building, including five wall-slots containing mortar rubble. At 125 ft. from the town wall was an irregular deposit of gravel and a substantial wall slot over 2 ft. 6in. wide and 6 ft. 6 in. from the surface. Southwards from this wall was a layer of mortar which may have been the foundation for a tessellated pavement. Hull interpreted the remains as representing two separate houses one of which may have been a courtyard house.<3>

Watercolour painting of the south east bastion of the town wall. This bastion had a thatched roof at the time of painting, also an arched window. The bastion survives adjacent to the Bus Depot.<4>